Playstation3 Top 25

Plenty of pre-release excitement on the list this time around, as almost a third of our chart-topping titles are creating big buzz before they even arrive in your local store. Namco's Soul Calibur IV has impressed pre-release-playing critics, with praise being heaped on its ultra-realistic graphics and new online mode. Gridiron fans are drooling over the thought of EA's Madden 09, with its promise of online league creation and all-new graphical enhancements. And one of the most anticipated PS3 games in recent memory, the fun puzzle-platformer LittleBigPlanet, has finally confirmed a landing date after creating big buzz way back at the 2007 Game Developers Conference. Popularity isn't just focused around the pre-release games, however -- titles with strong stories and gameplay, such as Grand Theft Auto IV, Assassin's Creed, and Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution continue to show their dominance on the chart while weak, opportunistic titles with awkward controls, questionable graphics, and poor replay value fall by the wayside. Players looking for a fun new title might want take a cue from some of our Bright Hub reviewers and look at some quality games that might not be on the bleeding edge, rather than taking a chance on a new release where the word "shambles" appears in more than review (I'm looking at you, Beijing Olympics 2008)!